so ive been doing contests more seriously the last couple years, mostly phone but getting into CW now, and i keep reading about SO2R and wondering if theres a point where it actually makes sense to set it up vs just running a clean single radio setup. right now i'm using an IC-7300 and getting maybe 400-500 QSOs in a typical 24 hour contest which i know isnt spectacular but its decent for a part timer who sleeps.

the rate optimization stuff i've been reading about is interesting though -- like working the mult on one radio while running a frequency on the other, that makes obvious sense on paper but i can only imagine how confusing it gets in practice when you're already tired at hour 18 and trying to copy calls through QRM. does anyone actually do SO2R with modest antennas or is it really only worth it if you've got a serious station? i feel like my attic dipoles would just eat each other alive with the second radio keying up

also curious if people have thoughts on when during a contest you should shift your strategy -- like i tend to S&P the whole first hour to log easy mults then try to find a run frequency but i'm not sure that's optimal or if i'm just doing what feels comfortable

the antenna isolation problem is real and its basically the first thing that kills most SO2R attempts at modest stations. you need somewhere around 40-50dB of isolation between the two rigs minimum just to keep the front end of radio 2 from getting hammered when radio 1 is transmitting, and with attic dipoles on the same or adjacent bands you're probably not going to get there without a lot of bandpass filtering. the Array Solutions or W3NQN filter sets are the usual solution but that's another $500-800 depending on which bands you care about.

that said -- the strategy question is actually more interesting to me than the hardware side. your S&P then run approach is pretty common and not wrong, but a lot of contesters flip it depending on conditions. if you can grab a run frequency in the first 20 minutes while the band is hot and everyone's looking for a clear spot, sometimes its better to plant early and let the callers come to you. the mult chasing can happen opportunistically between pileups. its situational though, 10m opening or a good 40m run early sunday morning changes everything

honestly i tried SO2R for about two contests and went back to single radio. maybe im just not wired for it, kept losing my run frequency while tuning around on the second rig and then fumbling the exchange when a good mult showed up. some guys make it look effortless but i think theres a real learning curve that costs you more QSOs than you gain until you're really practiced at it. N1MM has decent SO2R support if you do decide to go that route, the alt-tab between radio focus works okay once you get used to it